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short ton

short ton

1 4.1
A unit of weight used in the United States equal to 2,000 pounds, about 907 kilograms
  • noun
  • /ʃɔrt tɑn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : tonelada corta
  • Short tons
  • million short tons

Examples

  • They will point to the dangers of mercury emissions, to the hazards of handling more than 100 million short tons of coal waste every year, and to the devastation of acid rain.

    Academic text (2002)
  • Imports of steel jumped by 35 percent, from 29.5 million short tons in 1997 to 39.8 million short tons in 1998 (see table 2).

    Academic text (2003)
  • A 2,000-pound ton is also referred to as a short ton.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Between 1980 and 1990, an average of 1,300 short tons of fish and invertebrates were reported annually within 100 fm by commercial fishermen.

    Academic text (1993)
  • Imports of steel jumped by 35 percent, from 29.5 million short tons in 1997 to 39.8 million short tons in 1998 (see table 2).

    Academic text (2003)
  • Aircraft and crews from 12 active duty, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve bases across the nation are mobilized to arrive at March Air Reserve Base, Calif., where they are slated to pick up approximately 10 passengers and 632 short tons of equipment and supplies supporting relief efforts on the East Coast.

    Blog text (13)
  • In 2020, the United States exported 5.3 million short tons of wheat to various countries.

  • The truck can carry up to 30 short tons of cargo without exceeding weight restrictions.

  • The shipment included 15,000 short tons of aluminum ready for processing.

Synonyms

ton
vsshort ton
  • Specialized
188 1.0

An American measure of weight equal to 2,000 pounds

is the same weight but uses a specific traditional designation
net ton
vsshort ton
  • Specialized
4.0

A measure of weight used in the United States equal to 2,000 pounds

is identical in meaning but uses a different common name

How Much

tonnage
  • Specialized
3 4.5
short ton
  • Specialized
1 4.1

Surface Forms

short ton singular
short tons plural

Morphology

short + ton

The phrase is compositionally a 'ton' qualified by 'short', so a learner who knows 'ton' as a unit of weight and 'short' as 'smaller' can infer this is a particular (smaller) type of ton. However, the exact conventional value (2,000 pounds) and the US-specific usage are lexicalized facts that are not predictable from the constituents alone, so full understanding requires prior exposure.

Etymology

The term short ton comes from comparing different 'tons' used in different places. The U.S. ton was a bit 'shorter', meaning smaller, than the older British 'long ton' and the metric ton, so short ton came to mean the U.S. weight of 2,000 pounds today.